1999 Men's Cross Country Outlook

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Last season, the Providence College men's cross country team captured the BIG EAST crown, won the NCAA Regional Championship and finished 10th at the NCAA Championship. Head Coach Ray Treacy believes that this year's team will be able to continue its success from 1998 as it returns a strong group of runners. "I am looking for a continuation of the successful season the team had in 1998," Treacy said. "If we remain healthy, I believe that this could be the best team I've coached since 1992. The goal again this year is to win the New England, BIG EAST and NCAA Northeast Regional titles, and finish in the top six at the NCAA Championship."

The Friars also return strong indoor and outdoor track teams. The strength of this year's squad will once again be the distance events from 800 meters to 10,000 meters. According to Treacy, the goal of this year's team is to send as many runners to the NCAA Championships as possible. The Friars will be able to compete in a number of distance events and be strong during the indoor and outdoor seasons. With its versatility, the indoor team should be able to score points at the BIG EAST Championships.

Senior Keith Kelly (Drogheda, Ireland) returns for his final campaign as a Friar. Kelly is the leader of the team and is one of the most consistent and reliable runners on the squad. Last season, Kelly placed second (23:44) at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championship and earned All-America honors with a 14th-place (30:45.60) finish at the NCAA Championship. He will be expected to once again compete for the New England, BIG EAST and NCAA Regional titles and hopefully finish in the top six at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. Kelly also had a terrific season on the track for the Friars. During the outdoor season he won the 10,000 meter title at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship (30:05.47) and successfully defended his 10,000 meter title at the IC4A Outdoor Championship in a time of 29:38.39. He should be a contender in the 5,000 indoor and the 10,000 outdoor events at the NCAA Championships.

Senior Larry Morrissey (Waterford, Ireland) is coming off of a tremendous junior year. Morrissey should be a top five runner on the cross country squad. He finished last year's cross country season with a 21st-place finish (32:25) at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship and was PC's fourth finisher at the NCAA Championship in a time of 34:23.90. Treacy will look to Morrissey to help the cross country squad as well as make a major contribution to the indoor and outdoor track teams. Last year, he placed second (4:09.07) in the mile at the BIG EAST Indoor Championship and in the 1,000 meters at the New England Indoor Championship in a time of 2:26.51. He completed the indoor season with a third-place finish (4:09.32) in the mile at the IC4A Indoor Championship. Morrissey also placed fourth in the 1,500 meters at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship. Treacy believes he could run a sub-four-minute mile and qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Junior Ciaran Lynch (Limerick, Ireland) will be expected to carry his cross country form of a year ago into 1999. Lynch turned in one of his best performances last year at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championship. He helped the team to a first-place finish as he placed 13th in a time of 24:34. This year, he will be counted on to be one of the team's top seven cross country runners and to score highly at the BIG EAST Championship. At the New England Indoor Championship last year, Lynch finished fourth (14:43.98) in the 5,000 meters. Treacy expects him to score in the indoor and outdoor distance events at the BIG EAST Championships.

Sophomore Dermot Galvin (Kilrush, Ireland) will be asked to improve on a solid freshman campaign. This year, Galvin will be a top five runner on the cross country team for the Friars. He got off to a great start last season, but was hampered by injuries toward the end of the cross country season. He placed 33rd (25:39) at the Roy Griak Invitational and 20th (24:52) at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championship. Galvin is also expected to make a major contribution to the indoor and outdoor track teams. Galvin had a solid outdoor track season as he made a major impact in the distance events. At the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship, Galvin finished fifth (14:36.60) in the 5,000 meters. Treacy expects him to be a factor this year in the distance events during the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Another sophomore who is expected improve on a great freshman season is Paul Reilly (Loughrea, Ireland). He had a strong cross country season in 1998 as he helped the team to a first-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational. Reilly placed 12th (24:36) at the New England Cross Country Championship, following up that performance with a 14th-place (24:35) finish at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championship. Reilly placed 11th (32:00) at the NCAA Northeast Regional Cross Country Championship and 78th (31:50) at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. After a disappointing indoor season, Reilly ran well during the outdoor campaign. He posted one of his top performances at the Penn Relays, finishing fifth in a time of 14:25.00. Reilly should be able to make a strong contribution to the indoor and outdoor track teams as well as being a top five cross country runner.

Joining the team this season are two talented English runners Chris Livesey (Preston, England) and Adam Sutton (Preston, England). Livesey, a strong cross country and track runner, should make an immediate impact for the Friars. According to Treacy, his track times are as competitive as any recruit over the past few years. Livesey was a member of the British team that competed in the European Cross Country Championships. Sutton comes to Providence where he will contribute in cross country and on the track. He possesses a solid cross country background as he placed eighth at the British Junior Cross Country Championships. He will add depth to the distance events during the track seasons.

Once again, Head Coach Ray Treacy is highly optimistic about the Friars' fortunes in 1999-00. With Kelly leading the cross country squad, the Friars should be able to repeat their success of last season. PC's talented distance runners will be able to help the Friars improve their indoor and outdoor track status.

Completed Event: Men's Cross Country versus Friar Invitational on September 5, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Men's Cross Country at Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational on October 3, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Men's Cross Country at New England Championship on October 10, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Men's Cross Country at Princeton Fall Classic on October 17, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Men's Cross Country at Rothenberg Run on October 24, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Men's Cross Country at BIG EAST Championship on October 31, 2025 ,

Upcoming Event: Men's Cross Country at NCAA Northeast Regional on November 14, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Cross Country at NCAA Championship on November 22, 2025

Providence College Athletics

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